May 24, 2022 Hurricane Hunters brief mission to POTUS at interagency preseason hurricane event The Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters joined up with the NOAA Hurricane Hunters, U.S. Coast Guard, and FEMA to showcase their missions, aircraft and equipment as part of an interagency presidential briefing concerning the upcoming hurricane season.
Oct. 30, 2021 Hurricane Hunters testing new SATCOM capabilities The aerial reconnaissance weather officer sits adjacent, quality checking the figures from the dropsonde, as it plummets to the ocean’s surface, and from the stepped frequency microwave radiometer attached to the wing of the aircraft.
Oct. 10, 2021 Hurricane Hunters wrap up Hurricane Sam missions The Air Force Reserve’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Hurricane Hunters, from Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, began flying the storm after moving to their forward operating location in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, to collect weather data and provide the National Hurricane Center more
July 8, 2021 Hurricane Hunters wrap up Elsa recon ahead of landfall The Air Force Reserve’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Hurricane Hunters wrapped up their aerial reconnaissance efforts for Tropical Storm Elsa, July 7, after the storm made landfall on the northwest coast of Florida.
March 3, 2020 Hurricane Hunters fly winter storm A WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft departed Keesler Air Force Base midday to fly the western Atlantic flight track, off the Northeast coast.
Feb. 10, 2020 Hurricane Hunters fly atmospheric rivers The Hurricane Hunters are scheduled to perform “AR recon” from January through March. Scientists, led by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California, San Diego, working in partnership with the 53rd WRS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service
Dec. 3, 2019 53rd WRS reflects on 2019 hurricane season The 2019 hurricane season officially ended Nov. 30, and was an active one for the Reserve Airmen of the 53rd WRS, widely known as the Hurricane Hunters.
June 3, 2019 Reserve Airmen hunt hurricanes This specialized unit of Reserve Airmen is made up of a five-person crew consisting of a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, aerial reconnaissance weather officer and loadmaster who is also the dropsonde operator.
Feb. 5, 2019 Hurricane Hunters fly Atmospheric Rivers In November 2018, California experienced one of its most destructive fires with more than 150,000 acres burned, 18,000 homes destroyed, over 80 deaths, and with the winter rainfall season ahead, heavy rain can bring flooding and mudslides.
Sept. 17, 2018 US Naval Academy tests waters with Hurricane Hunters When the subject of summer internships comes up, thoughts of fetching coffee and doing paperwork or answering phone calls come to mind.What does not come to mind is working 10,000 feet in the air in an Air Force Reserve WC-130J Hercules flying through a hurricane for the sake of research.
March 1, 2018 Hurricane Hunters complete atmospheric river reconnaissance Much like a river on the ground carries water in streams through the earth, an atmospheric river carries water vapor in streams through the sky.
May 3, 2017 Hurricane Hunters prepare the Caribbean More than 20,000 people attended the Caribbean Hurricane Awareness Tour hosted April 24-29, 2017 by the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron “Hurricane Hunters” and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.